Virtue

7digitalWhat we said:Boasting a deadly combo of dulcet tones and an acerbic wit, all the signs were there on 2009’s First Love that Emma-Lee Moss is not your average folkster. But even the converted will be amazed by the game-raising evident on Virtue, an album that shakes Laura Marling from the top of the folk tree. Poor Emmy’s had a tough time of it the past couple of years, but the grief of being jilted (for God, no less) is eloquently addressed through a sublime use of mythical and religious allusion. The sound’s more expansive too, Gareth Jones’ lushly orchestrated arrangements matching the unbridled beauty of those gorgeous, Natasha Khan-esque vocals. True, working out personal turmoil through the medium of song is hardly a new concept, but rarely has it sounded prettier than this.